Nette Megens
Head of Department, Director
This auction has ended. View lot details
You may also be interested in
Lot 231*
A large Meissen allegorical figure of Mars in his chariot second half 19th century
5 July 2018, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £7,125 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our European Ceramics specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Sebastian Kuhn
Department Director
Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
A large Meissen allegorical figure of Mars in his chariot second half 19th century
Modelled by J.J. Kaendler, Mars seated surrounded by his trophies including a bow and arrow, quiver banner and drums, marshall staff and lance (now missing), his finely detailed cuirasse decorated in blue, gold and yellow, 46cm wide, The chariot and clouds with putto moulded in two parts and joined: both with crossed swords mark in underglaze-blue and L in underglaze-blue and incised No.22. and impressed 137, painters numeral 29, crossed swords in blue, the horses separately modelled and marked with crossed swords in blue, incised 22. and impressed 101 (losses to extremeties) (2)
Footnotes
This group was first modeled in part by Kaendler and in part by Acier, as part of an elaborate gift for Czarina Catherine II, the so-called 'Great Russian Order', of porcelain made for the Russian court. It was intended for decoration of the Katalnaya Gorka or 'Sliding Hill' pavilion near Oranienbaum Palace outside of Saint Petersburg. They were modelled by Johann Joachim Kaendler and based on the five planets known at the time, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as the sun and the moon, which were also called planets. For a discussion of this gift and an image of the large figure, formerly Lomonossov, Pavilion near sliding hill see: U. Pietsch (ed.), Meissen for the Czars (2004), cat. ill. 26, p. 104.
Pietsch mentions (op.cit. p. 103) that Kaendler's inspiration for the original designs of this series may be found in the Gründliches Mythologisches Lexicon (Leipzig, 1724). The original print source for these large-scale mythological groups however can more likely be found in the series of 'Seven Planets' which were published widely in Europe in the second half of the 16th century. They could very well be based on works by the same title published around 1600 by the Dutch engraver Crispijn (van de) Passe the Elder (1564-1637), or indeed the 'Planetarium - Effectus et Eorum in Signis Zodiac' by engraver Johannes Sadeler published in Antwerp in 1558, which both show Mars in his chariot flanked by his zodiac sign. Both engravers based their prints on works of Maarten de Vos. Interestingly, Anthony Griffith, The Print Before Photography (2016), notes that of the 1600 prints made after Maarten de Vos, only two were derived from paintings, the majority having been supplied directly to an engraver.
Additional information
Bid now on these items
